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Ten minutes later.

“Uwah!”
“Aaah~”

Four players were thrown out of the Adventurer’s Guild and slammed heavily onto the ground. They were none other than Stanley, Serena, Everett, and Vincent. All four were covered in injuries. Stanley, in particular, had been beaten until his face resembled a pig’s head, making it obvious that he had received special attention.

Everett and Vincent were not much better off, their injuries equally severe.

“You actually hit a woman! Are you even men!?” Serena touched her swollen cheek, trembling with anger.

“Taurus, don’t let me catch you in Roc City!” Stanley roared.

Everett and Vincent had just opened their mouths to shout something as well when they saw a crowd of players charging out aggressively. The two immediately scrambled to their feet and fled in panic.

Serena and Stanley also ran for their lives with terrified expressions. Only an idiot would stay behind and continue getting beaten!

“Trash.” Taurus walked out of the guild and looked at their miserable retreating figures. A mocking smile instantly curled across his lips. This time, he had undoubtedly offended four major factions. So what? Even if the sky collapsed, the Zhang Family of Huadu would hold it up for him!

Besides, getting beaten in a game was completely different from getting beaten in the real world. If they actually tried to cause trouble for him in reality, people would only look down on them.

In truth, Taurus had judged the situation perfectly. As long as he didn’t beat them to death, it wasn’t a big deal.

“Trash should know their place.” With that said, Taurus turned around and headed back into the guild.

Before he had even settled into his seat, a guild officer rushed over excitedly. “Young Master Taurus, the shop’s having a massive sale! And some equipment can even be purchased with gold coins now!”

Hearing this, Taurus’ eyes widened and his heart trembled. “What did you just say?”

Without another word, the officer pulled up the shop interface for him to see. After taking a glance at the prices, Taurus felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

The last time they attempted to kill the Blackhearted Princess, the plan had failed. Not only had the enemy looted a considerable amount of their equipment, but some members had even lost a level, causing the guild’s overall strength to decline.

Fortunately, levels were relatively easy to grind back. Equipment, however, was a different story. With the game’s outrageously miserable drop rates, recovering their lost gear was practically harder than ascending to the heavens.

Now that the shop was offering discounts, the Prestige required had been greatly reduced. Combined with the fact that some equipment could now be purchased directly with money, restoring the guild to its peak combat strength would not be difficult.

For Taurus, any problem that could be solved with money was no problem at all! At that moment, he wasn’t the only one going on a shopping spree. Every major faction had entered full-scale buying mode as well.

Before long, news of the shop discount spread across the forums, leaving players on foreign servers green with envy. There was no helping it. Their servers hadn’t unlocked a Legendary Quest, after all!

Meanwhile, the nations across the Southern Continent were gathering information on the Jade Empire through every channel available to them. The more distant nations mostly watched the spectacle from the sidelines. The neighboring countries, however, were eager for action, their eyes practically glowing red with greed.

The Sky Empire was especially so. The moment Alicia and Richard ended up mutually wounded after their clash, every hungry wolf would descend upon the Jade Empire and tear it apart piece by piece!

Through a legendary magic mirror, Dragon Empress Hera vaguely saw a giant emerald-green egg. It was none other than Jade City, protected by its activated barrier. She was not particularly interested in that nation. Not because she looked down on it, but because it was simply too far away.

“Let me see just what kind of charm this Princess possesses, the one Rakshasa keeps talking about.” She suddenly said. Only then did it become clear that this woman’s focus had never been on Jade City from the very beginning! The image within the magic mirror gradually became clearer.

Far away in the Jade Empire, Richard sensed several prying gazes watching him, but he paid them no attention. Rather than wasting energy blocking those observers, he would rather use the time before the battle began to adjust himself to peak condition.

Richard had an intense premonition. Alicia would come to kill him tonight!

***

That night. Within the City of Chaos. Yae-hime logged in once more. All the necessary preparations had already been completed. Now, all she had to do was quietly wait for Alicia’s arrival.

“Hime!”
“Hime.”
“Master!”

The moment she entered the main hall, three figures pounced toward her. Little Blue was the fastest, Lili came second, and Zerene was third. In the blink of an eye, three little girls were hanging all over Yae-hime.

Even though war was imminent, none of them seemed particularly nervous. Lili perhaps felt a little tension, but Little Blue and Zerene clearly did not. It was as if tonight’s battle had nothing to do with them.

Thinking about it carefully, however, it seemed perfectly normal. One was the Artifact Spirit of a War Fortress that had existed for who knew how many years. The other was an incarnation of a mighty Celestial Race expert.

The number of wars they had experienced was probably greater than the amount of salt Yae-hime had eaten in her life. It would have been stranger if they were nervous.

After chatting for a while, Yunuen and Little Fairy logged in one after another. In this battle that would determine the fate of the Jade Empire, they were merely spectators, just like the other girls in the guild. The reason was simple: they were too weak. Going onto the battlefield would be no different from throwing away their lives.

Layna and the others, meanwhile, would remain on standby in Aoma Village. They were not players. If they died, they would truly die. No one knew what unexpected developments might occur during this final battle. After careful consideration, Yae-hime decided not to bring them along.

At nine o’clock that evening, a force numbering five thousand suddenly appeared several kilometers away from Aoma Village. Moments after their arrival, a flash of white light erupted from the surrounding space, and powerful spatial energy spread outward.

Immediately afterward, every single one of them vanished. At the same time, on an open plaza within the City of Chaos—

“They’re finally here.” Looking at the vast crowd materializing before her, Yae-hime could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

This time, Alicia had not let her down! After sensing them briefly, she discovered that every one of them possessed a formidable aura. They were clearly elites selected specifically for this operation.

In this battle, neither side intended to compete through lower-tier forces. Bringing weaklings along would only create burdens.

The crowd slowly parted. Two figures stepped forward, one after the other. They were Alicia, with her tall figure and naturally enchanting beauty, and Moonshadow, dressed entirely in black with only her bright eyes exposed.

The moment they saw Yae-hime, ripples stirred within their otherwise calm hearts. This incomparably beautiful existence always made one’s heart race. It was as though simply standing there was enough to captivate all living beings.

Only when the two approached did Yae-hime finally sense the terrifying aura hidden within Alicia’s body. It was like a boundless ocean, impossible to fathom. And like the heavens collapsing, threatening to crush all beneath them.

‘So strong. As expected of someone at the Legend rank… Wait, Lili and Moon are Legend rank too. Why can’t I feel the same pressure from them?’

A flash of realization crossed Yae-hime’s mind. Without a doubt, it was because of the Inheritance Jewel! After receiving the power inherited from her royal ancestors, Alicia’s strength had already far surpassed both Lili and Moonshadow.

Even among those of the same rank, the gap could still be enormous. Just like Lili and Richard. The former would have to risk everything merely to severely injure the latter.

Moonshadow was probably not much better. Otherwise, the two of them could have joined forces and eliminated Richard long ago. There would have been no need for Alicia’s involvement.

After exchanging a few words, Yae-hime led them into the main hall to make the final adjustments to their battle plan.

Beneath the same night sky, in the outer district beyond Jade City, a sudden flash of white light erupted as spatial energy spread through the area. A black-robed figure appeared. His face was covered in strange markings. In his hand, he held a black bead that was now covered with cracks.

“Alicia, your death is inevitable.” As soon as those words left his mouth, the black-robed figure vanished like a phantom.